Enjoy The Moment
by J.J. Blue
Summary: What a tiny little change can do... (SxS) [Complete] [Betaed]
1. Chap 1: 1979

**Title: "Enjoy The Moment (A.K.A.: Five Things That Never Happened To Sakurazuka Seishiro Plus One) - Chap 1: 1979"**  
**Author: J.J.**  
**Warning:** It's an AU **BASED ON THE MANGA**, it probably contains some OOCness, uses Japanese words and includes some spoilers.  
**Notes:** It should have been completely different. I've no idea how it evolved into this...  
**Warning over notes:** This fic has notes. You will find them at the bottom. Each time you see a number between brackets it means there's a note connected to the word/sentence that preceded it. However I suggest you to read the notes **_AFTER_** you finished the fic unless the word/sentence connected to the note is really troublesome for you to understand. Anyway the fic should be still understandable without the notes. Notes are merely extra explanations for who wants to know more.  
**Disclaimer:**  
**"Tokyo Babylon"** and **"X"** belong to Clamp. I'm merely using their characters because I love them... especially Seishiro and Subaru...  
Do I own something here? Oh yes, I own the plot and a sensitive heart which would surely break if you give me harsh reviews, so please be honest but nice, okay?  
**Thanks:**  
To **Sami The Creator** for betaing this! Thank you a lot!  
**Summary:** _What a tiny little change can do..._

* * *

**1979 - Kanazawa - Saiseikai Kanazawa Hospital**

It was a hot day. He stared unhappily at the sky out of the window from his position on the plastic hospital chair in the waiting room waving his legs back and forth slowly, while the maid who was supposed to look after him that day was happily chatting with another woman seated next to her. It was **_so_** unfair! She was having fun while **_he_** was deadly bored. Oh well, at least her fear of blood assured him that he wouldn't have to watch his uncle as he performed another autopsy.(1) Whose were long messy and even more boring and in his five years of age he had witnessed too many of them already to know what went on during them. All in all he was sure humans were toys definitely prettier from the outside than from the inside and that once they were _'broken'_ they were no fun at all.

"Hey, I'm starving," he pointed out grasping the sleeve of the maid's Yukata in his small hand and pulling roughly, trying to catch her attention. "Go buy me something to eat," he ordered, knowing there was no reason to be polite and formal to her when one of his Ichimon members wasn't around.

The girl turned toward him with a look of extreme patience that didn't make her look pretty at all. In the long series of caretakers he had this one was probably the ugliest. Oh well, soon his aunt would grow bored with her and assign the task to another maid. She always did. He had no idea why the girls never seemed fitting caretakers for him in his aunt's opinion. He couldn't remember one that had lasted more than two months, their faces and names blurring in his mind until they became a meaningless list of faceless people. Maybe it was just because he was a special child. A very precious one who would become the next Ichizoku no Chou. Special children couldn't be trusted in the care of ordinary people.(2)

"I'm so sorry, Seishiro-san, but Danna-sama said we aren't allowed to move from here..." she answered formally before dismissing him again and began chatting happily again. He huffed, hating to be dismissed so carelessly, and pulled at her sleeve again.

"But I'm starving!" he protested knowing he would find an excuse to have the girl fired in the near future. Even if she wasn't going to last long anyway, she should really learn to treat him better. Even if he was only five he knew perfectly well how to exact his revenge on anyone who happened to have something against him. He was a very independent and bright child. Everyone was ready to admit that.

"You can have my Anpan if you like," offered a timid voice next to him. He turned to see another child, around his age, a rosy blush covering his lovely porcelain skin, his gaze set firmly on the ground and his eyes completely covered by his dark fringe. "If you'd like, I mean, I haven't bitten it yet and... well, if you're starving... if it doesn't offend you... I mean..." the child continued babbling in a nervous tone.

"It doesn't," he assured taking hold of the Anpan and biting it with gusto. The boy raised his head to smile at him and Seishiro saw that the child had shining eyes, of a bright green which he had never seen before, and such a gentle, yet beautiful smile. He remained frozen for a second in admiration. He was sure he'd never seen anyone prettier.

"**ARGH!** What are you doing, eating my brother's Anpan!" protested a shrill female voice. He distractedly turned toward it to meet a face very similar to that of the boy's and yet nowhere nearly as interesting.

"Ho-Hokuto-chan, it's not like that... I gave it to him... he was starving and..." the girl's brother complained timidly, catching the girl's attention.

"What were you thinking, feeding strangers your food?" she reproached, in the same tone she would have used if she had been his mother. "You know you need to eat, you're way too skinny and..." Seishiro observed them while finishing the Anpan, the show offering him an interesting diversion from his boredom. Once finished, he brushed his hands to brush off any remaining crumbs and then stood, taking hold of the boy's arm and forced him to stand up as well.

"Well, I've had enough of this, now let's play together," he decided without bothering to ask the other boy.

"Yes, let's play!" the girl agreed enthusiastically despite not being asked her opinion, immediately forgetting she was scolding her brother in the prospective of having some fun.

"We can't play here," her brother pointed out firmly, looking at the girl seriously and, from the look in the girl's eyes, he could tell she knew the boy wouldn't change her mind no matter what she would do or say. "We're in a hospital and Obaachan said we have to wait here until the purification..."(3)

"You don't want to play with me?" Seishiro asked him, a slightly pouty expression on his face and saw the boy's will crumble like a sand castle under his gaze, as if he was totally unable to tell **_him_** _'no'_.

"I... of course I want to but..." the child stammered, lowering his gaze and blushing cutely as he realized that Seishiro had yet to let go of his wrist.

"That's great, then we'll play _'Tag'_," Seishiro stated, not giving him the chance to finish the sentence.

"But... the hospital... and I'm not good at..." the boy protested timidly even if he seemed to know that he was this was a lost cause.

"**GREAT!**" the girl cheered jumping in excitement, her loud voice overbearing her brother's quiet one. "I'm the best at it!" she exclaimed while her brother looked from her to Seishiro nervously and looking reluctant.

"I'll help you," Seishiro promised the boy in a soothing, assuring tone, without letting him go. He grinned as he got a shy, thankful smile in reply. Then he tapped the girl on her forehead. "Tag, you're it," he stated and then immediately ran away, grabbing the boy's hand and pulling him along.

"Hey, who said you can decide who's it?" the girl protested as she chased after them. Seishiro laughed and felt strangely pleased as his new playmate clung tightly to his hand, almost afraid to loosen his hold, his hand, even smaller than his, fit perfectly into his.

"I can do anything I want!" he informed the girl, ignoring the voice of his maid calling him now that she had finally realized what he was doing, knowing she would be yelled at if his uncle were to discover she had lost sight of him. _'Too bad for her'_, Seishiro thought. She should have paid more attention before. She wasn't going to get in the way of his fun now.

"**CHILDREN!**" an older voice, way more authoritarian then that of the maid who was suppose to look after him, called them in a firm tone, without yelling but loud enough to be heard, causing the three of them to stop immediately.

"Obaachan..." the twins said simultaneously and he felt the boy's hold on his hand unconsciously tightening as an old woman in a traditional white Shikifuku moved closer to them.

"Is this the suitable way in which to act in a hospital? I'm disappointed in you," she said calmly. The girl tried to excuse herself while the boy's gaze dropped. He seemed so deeply wounded by those simple words that... that it hit Seishiro somehow. He just... couldn't let anybody hurt that boy.

"You can't pretend we'll remain here still as statues on such a beautiful day," he stated, ignoring his maid's attempt to reproach him as well, and the boy next to him gazed up in a mix of surprise, thankfulness and admiration. The old woman glared at him but he refused to show he was intimidated even if he was. No one could intimidate him. Especially when that boy was looking at him.

"Your parents should educate you better," the woman calmly informed him in a not too concerned tone, as if it didn't really matter. She was talking to him as if he was the adult which was strangely satisfying. "Children, we're leaving now," the woman stated then, dismissing him and beginning to walk away, expecting her grandchildren to follow her without discussion. He felt the boy's hold on his hand loosening and he turned to look at him, feeling strangely anxious. He didn't want to let him go, though he had no idea why. The boy gazed at him sadly while his sister waved bye-bye to Seishiro, before immediately running after her grandmother. She took her hand and began to chat with her enthusiastically, as if she'd never been reproached. The boy hesitated only a second longer , then their hands weren't holding each other anymore and he began to walk away. He looked like a beaten puppy, turning often towards him before he obediently took hold of his grandmother's free hand as well. He wouldn't turn anymore after this and that just felt so wrong... it was so wrong to let the boy get away from him like that, forever without even the hope of...

"Next time we see each other, I'll offer you something!" Seishiro felt the need to tell to him, wondering why he felt as if he was being abandoned. He felt infinite relief as the boy turned again toward him, green eyes meeting his golden ones for one last time.

"I'll be waiting!" the child replied, smiling brightly and waving at him as best as he could despite his grandmother holding his hand tightly and began to walk away faster, pulling him and his sister along.

Seishiro stared at his retreating figure until the boy was out of the hospital and far from sight. Ignoring the maid's complaints about the way he'd behaved, he felt as if someone had stolen something from him. He had no idea what it was but it hurt and it didn't put him in a good mood.

"Silence," he hissed in her direction. "I don't have to take orders from you," he reminded her as he moved to sit on the chair he had left, grumpily. He had no idea why but he couldn't stop thinking about those green eyes that had looked at him so longingly and how they'd been ripped away from him... It was the first time someone had wanted to be with him, longed to be with him and he...

He would track them down, he decided. He would track them down and the next time he would own them forever.

_**To be continued...**_

* * *

**JJ's Notes:**

1. The drama cd says that Seishiro didn't meet his mother until he was nine. I've no idea if Seishiro had been left in his relative's care during that time or what they worked in. Many think he underwent some _'training'_ aimed at turning him into an emotionless person that would have no problems killing somebody. However, for this fic background I assumed that if he'd simply been used being around corpses and people handling them from such a young age then that would be enough for him to get used to death. Feel free to disagree.

2. Actually, for children it's slightly traumatic to not have a stable person to take care of them.

3. On hospital roofs there's often a small Shinto temple in commemoration of the earth spirits, every year, an Onmyouji of the Sumeragi Ichimon purify it. I've no idea if there's one on the Saiseikai Kanazawa Hospital and I couldn't find this info anywhere. Let's assume there's is.

**JJ's Extra Notes:**  
Actually, I doubt Subaru's grandmother would be the Onmyouji who would take care of the purification rite over at Kanazawa Hospital. I assume the Sumeragi would send an Onmyouji who lives in Kanazawa or somewhere close by. Pretend that, for some reason, this time Subaru's grandmother had to do it while she was taking care of the twins.

**Dictionary:**  
**-chan:** used at the end of a name to express affection and familiarity or when talking to a child  
**-sama:** "Lord" or "Lady"  
**-san:** "Mr." or "Mrs."  
**Anpan:** A Japanese sweet bun filled with red bean paste  
**Danna:** Master (of the house)  
**Ichimon:** "Family" or "Household" or "Clan"  
**Ichizoku no Chou:** "Family Head"  
**Obaachan:** "Grandmother" or "Old Woman"  
**Onmyoudo:** "Way of Yin and Yang". Yin and Yang are the male and female forces underlying the movement and changes of nature. Onmyoudo is based on the Chinese arts of astrology, divination and Taoist magic and also represents a mystical way of living in harmony with the forces of nature  
**Onmyouji:** "Person who practices Onmyoudo". Basically a magician, sorcerer, diviner and astrologer  
**Shikifuku:** Ceremonial Robe  
**Yukata:** Informal Summer Kimono

* * *

Don't grumble silently, please let me know what you're thinking of this!  
Send me your comments!


	2. Chap 2: 1983

**Title: "Enjoy The Moment (A.K.A.: Five Things That Never Happened To Sakurazuka Seishiro Plus One) - Chap 2: 1983"**  
**Author: J.J.**  
**Warning:** It's an AU **BASED ON THE MANGA**, it probably contains some OOCness, uses Japanese words and includes some spoilers.  
**Notes:** It should have been completely different. I've no idea how it evolved into this...  
**Warning over notes:** This fic has notes. You will find them at the bottom. Each time you see a number between brackets it means there's a note connected to the word/sentence that preceded it. However I suggest you to read the notes **_AFTER_** you finished the fic unless the word/sentence connected to the note is really troublesome for you to understand. Anyway the fic should be still understandable without the notes. Notes are merely extra explanations for who wants to know more.  
**Disclaimer:**  
**"Tokyo Babylon"** and **"X"** belong to Clamp. I'm merely using their characters because I love them... especially Seishiro and Subaru...  
Do I own something here? Oh yes, I own the plot and a sensitive heart which would surely break if you give me harsh reviews, so please be honest but nice, okay?  
**Thanks:**  
To **Sami The Creator** for betaing this! Thank you a lot!  
**Summary:** _What a tiny little change can do..._

* * *

**1983 - Tokyo - Chiyoda**

His first visit to his mother was boring.(1) Sure, the woman was beautiful and... well he had just known first sight she was his mother but the ancient house she lived in held nothing fun for him to play with and he was annoyed by her habit of hugging, kissing and touching him. He wasn't used to being touched so much. It was just something his relatives didn't do and it annoyed him to have to deal with it now, even if he submitted to it obediently. She was probably like this because she was... well a young girl or very close to being one... he wasn't sure really, she seemed young but she couldn't be too young since she was his mother. Girls were often worse than glue. Anyways, now she'd left him alone in that boring and empty house, that looked like a prison, because she had work to do. Really, no one could blame him if he had gotten bored and had decided to sneak out and wander around Tokyo on his own. It wasn't as if he didn't know how to take care of himself. Actually, he was quite used to do it, the maids and his relatives back at his house in Kanazawa often paid him little or no attention at all.

The grown ups in Tokyo didn't seem to pay him much attention either. Actually they didn't seem to pay attention to anything that happened around them. His mother could have done her work right in front of their noses and they wouldn't have noticed. No one would notice and no one would care. He was used to that, it was like that in Kanazawa too. No one paying attention, no one caring, it was normal, it would be like this forever. People cared only for themselves. He shuddered, feeling cold all of sudden and not knowing why. Then his instinct told him to turn and he managed to catch a glimpse of one of the grown ups bumping into another child dressed in white and carelessly sending the boy flying against him. They both fell roughly to the ground.

"I'm so sorry!" the boy who had tumbled onto him hurriedly apologized to him. He then turned to apologize to the grown up who'd caused his fall but the man had already disappeared. The child remained where he was, looking around and unable to decide what to do.

_'A Shikifuku,'_ Seishiro realized. _'He's wearing a Shikifuku and he's just a child... And yet I can feel so much power tapped inside him...'_

"Are you going to get off me?" he asked the puzzled boy, who was still sitting on his lap. Not that he minded keeping him there. He was so cute that he wouldn't mind keeping him and taking him home, as if he was a wayward puppy, but the ground was cold and the grown ups would end up stepping on them. The boy turned toward him blushing and apologizing, eyes obstinately lowered. He tried to scramble to his feet and ended up tripping and falling on his backside again. Seishiro laughed at the unexpected show, stood with ease and offered to the other child his hand. The boy stared at it in surprise, as if unused to getting help. He turned to look up at him and Seishiro stared at the sight of beautiful and grateful green eyes that seemed somehow familiar. As he helped the boy to his feet, he felt a fierce and possessive feeling for him that made him unconsciously refuse to let go of the boy's hand.

"Where are you going?" he asked him pulling said hand closer, holding it even tighter as the child tried to gently pull it back.

"I... um... I don't know for sure... I was waiting for Obaachan to finish her business at the Kunaicho when... when I kind of felt as if I was being called and..." the boy lowered his head, green eyes filling with sadness. "I know it sounds strange but I'm not lying, I..."

"I trust you," he replied dismissively and the boy returned to look at him in surprise. Evidently he hadn't met many people willing to trust him over paranormal matters. Well, not everyone had been trained in Onmyoudo as Seishiro had.(2)

"Really?" the child asked in a small voice, filled with hope and gratefulness, looking truly too adorable for words.

"Sure," Seishiro assured smoothly. "So were you going to the where you felt it?" he asked and the boy nodded eagerly. "You shouldn't wander through Tokyo all alone, it's dangerous," Seishiro chided him gently, acting as if he were a grown up in charge of the boy's well being and not a child of his same age. "So I'll accompany you. Where do you think it's coming from?"

"There," the boy said pointing. Seishiro could clearly feel two kinds of magic at work in the direction being singled out. One was the faint and almost perfectly masked trace of the Sakurazukamori's one, recognizable only by those who had knowledge of it. The other, much clearer and more evident, was likely the one of the Sakurazukamori's target.(3) It wouldn't be a good idea to bother his mother while she was at work and... and he didn't want her to see the boy. He didn't want her to want to touch, hug and kiss him like she did with him. She might even try to keep the child all for herself. He didn't want to share him with her. Not now, not ever. He'd found him and the boy was his. He won't give him up to anyone, not even his mother.

"We're not going there. It's a dangerous place," he stated firmly and saw the other child looking at him anxiously, almost in protest. "Come on, come with me I... I'll buy you an ice cream," he decided, attempting to distract him from going after the _'call'_ as he began pulling him in the opposite direction.

"But... but..." the boy protested timidly as he was pulled away. Seishiro ignored his protests as he dragged him inside an ice cream parlour. The child moved closer to him nervously once they were inside, as the attention of all the customers seemed to turn on him and his clothes.

"Well? Haven't you ever seen a Shikifuku?" Seishiro asked loudly to the people inside the parlour causing them to hurriedly turn their gazes away. Satisfied, Seishiro ordered two ice creams, paid them and then pulled the boy towards a table to eat them comfortably.

"Thank you," the boy murmured politely, eyes lowered and a small, grateful smile on his lips.

"Oh, ice cream isn't tremendously expensive nowadays," Seishiro replied nonchalantly, swallowing a large portion of his own ice cream. "Try it, it's good," he assured.

"I... I don't mean just for the ice cream. I mean... I know those clothes are... well... unusual... and it's natural... for people... to stare... but it makes me so uncomfortable... and Obaachan... she said I've to get used to it but..." the child tried to explain hesitantly, looking as if he were one step away from crying.

"They're ignorant. Don't mind them," Seishiro stated firmly. "Eat or it'll melt on your fingers." The child smiled gratefully before beginning to lick at the ice cream timidly. Seishiro was surprised by how fascinating he found watching the boy as he ate. He had never believed there could be something better than eating sweets. It was just that the child in front of him was... beautiful. Beautiful in an adorably, delicate and cute way. Way more beautiful than his mother, way more beautiful than everything he'd before. It was strange how he found himself engaged comfortably in a conversation with the other boy, normally he didn't bother to talk with others, and yet it felt so good to talk with the other boy of... nothing in particular really, just how pretty Sakura were, what was buried under them,(4) why chocolate was better than vanilla, souls suffering when still trapped in ChiJou, the pros and cons of having or not having a sister, why it would be wonderful to be a veterinarian and how it sucked to be an Onmyouji... Just talking to him was special and they got so into the conversation that they lost track of time. As they moved to leave the ice cream parlour to go and try some delicious European sweets at a bakery close by, they almost ran into a person.

"O-Obaachan..." the boy mumbled recognizing the old woman and then he immediately lowered his head guiltily, his enthusiasm gone.

"I couldn't find you," the old woman said quietly. "Do you have any idea of how worried I was?"

"I'm so sorry..." the child whimpered. Seishiro didn't like what was going on, not one bit. The old woman wasn't hitting the child or yelling at him but, somehow, her quiet reproaching seemed to hurt the boy so much. Wiped away was any trace of that warm, affectionate smile that Seishiro liked so much as the boy's eyes grew watery and Seishiro just wouldn't allow it.

"He only left to get an ice cream cone! You can't expect him to starve to death!" he protested, not really knowing why he was taking the boy's defence so to heart. He fought down an odd sense of déjà-vu. The old woman turned her gaze to him, and something inside him cringed as he recognized the power inside her and the fact he wasn't yet of her league. Yet. It would surely be a matter of time. He would reach her and surpass her with no trouble at all. He saw the woman's eyes widen once she had took a good look at him, as if she had recognized him, but he really couldn't place her features. She was... nothing special. Not at all like the child next to him. She didn't seem pleased to see her grandson with him as she picked the boy up in an almost protective manner, forcing them to let go of each other's hand. The woman cradled the boy securely against her chest as if Seishiro were some sort of threat and moved to leave hurriedly. He had no idea why but it felt so unfair to be left there, as if he had done something wrong, when all he did was buy him an ice cream and keeping him away from his mother...

"Hey!" the boy called from over his grandmother's shoulder as the woman was carrying him away apparently collecting all his courage in order to do so. "Next time we meet it'll be my treat!" he offered, he was immediately reproached by his grandmother.

"Of course it will!" Seishiro replied, cheering up and waving at him. The boy waved back at him timidly, smiling shyly and trying to not be noticed by the woman.

Next time. There would be a next time. He would see those green eyes again and then... then he'd keep them for himself. Sure. That's what he'll do.

_**To be continued...**_

* * *

**JJ's Notes:**

1. Seishiro met his mother for the first time at age nine. In the drama cd we hear that she seemed to like to hug and kiss him, almost as if they had an incestuous relationship. The side story in the manga seems to confirm it.

2. I'm assuming Seishiro's relatives in Kanazawa knew Onmyoudo and had taught Seishiro so, when he met his mother, he already knew the basics at least.

3. Many tend to forget that the Sakurazukamori kills those who're a threat to Japan. Due to this, I assume the little girl Seishiro killed in the manga (and that, in this AU, is being killed by Setsuka, Seishiro's mother) had some sort of spiritual power that presented a threat to Japan and Subaru sensed it.

4. According to an old myth (that Seishiro told to Subaru in their first meeting in **'Tokyo Babylon'**) corpses are buried underneath the Sakura trees and the blood of the bodies buried under them make the Sakura turn pink.

**JJ's Extra Notes:**  
Yes, Subaru's grandmother realized Seishiro is more than meets the eye. I actually find it very stupid of her to leave Subaru alone but since, apparently, in Japan, preschool children can wander around alone so maybe what she did was pretty ordinary.

**Dictionary:**  
**ChiJou:** Land of the Living  
**Kunaicho:** Imperial Household Agency  
**Obaachan:** "Grandmother" or "Old Woman"  
**Onmyoudo:** "Way of Yin and Yang". Yin and Yang are the male and female forces underlying the movement and changes of nature. Onmyoudo is based on the Chinese arts of astrology, divination and Taoist magic and also represents a mystical way of living in harmony with the forces of nature  
**Onmyouji:** "Person who practices Onmyoudo". Basically a magician, sorcerer, diviner and astrologer  
**Onmyoujutsu:** "Art of Yin and Yang". The ability to use Onmyoudo spells  
**Sakura:** "Cherry Tree" or "Cherry Blossom"  
**Sakurazukamori:** "Guardian of the Cherry Blossom Burial Mound". The assassin who uses Onmyoujutsu to kill whomever threatens Japan  
**Shikifuku:** Ceremonial Robe

* * *

**Replies to reviews:**

To **Everyone who reviewed**: Thank you! You're a great encouragement for me!

To **M. Midori**: blushes and hugs back Thank you! Well, I don't think there's a Seishiro who can resist to a Subaru, you know!

To **Dark Angel Of Fire Ice**: Seishiro's the most adorable brat ever!

To **yumemi**: Glad you like!

To **0ri**: I'm happy to hear you like this. I've tried to keep Seishiro in character despite being so young...

* * *

Don't grumble silently, please let me know what you're thinking of this!  
Send me your comments!


	3. Chap 3: 1989

**Title: "Enjoy The Moment (A.K.A.: Five Things That Never Happened To Sakurazuka Seishiro Plus One) - Chap 3: 1989"**  
**Author: J.J.**  
**Warning:** It's an AU **BASED ON THE MANGA**, it probably contains some OOCness, uses Japanese words and includes some spoilers.  
**Notes:** It should have been completely different. I've no idea how it evolved into this...  
**Warning over notes:** This fic has notes. You will find them at the bottom. Each time you see a number between brackets it means there's a note connected to the word/sentence that preceded it. However I suggest you to read the notes **_AFTER_** you finished the fic unless the word/sentence connected to the note is really troublesome for you to understand. Anyway the fic should be still understandable without the notes. Notes are merely extra explanations for who wants to know more.  
**Disclaimer:**  
**"Tokyo Babylon"** and **"X"** belong to Clamp. I'm merely using their characters because I love them... especially Seishiro and Subaru...  
Do I own something here? Oh yes, I own the plot and a sensitive heart which would surely break if you give me harsh reviews, so please be honest but nice, okay?  
**Thanks:**  
To **Sami The Creator** for betaing this! Thank you a lot!  
**Summary:** _What a tiny little change can do..._

* * *

**1989 - Tokyo - Ebisu**

He was quietly walking back from the private high school he was frequenting, cursing the cold weather and planning to go and buy himself a hot chocolate as he tried to warm up his hands with his own breath. Really, Kanazawa's weather was much better than Tokyo's...(1)

It was then that he saw them. Some boys were harassing a girl on the other side of the street, trying to force her inside their car. She was fighting as best as she could but he knew she would lose. He wondered if he should do something but he didn't feel particularly interested in the show, one way or another. The girl's problems didn't regard him. He didn't care about what could happen to her or to the boys. Maybe he lacked feelings but so did everyone in the city. No one cared for the girl. No one would help her. No one...(2)

"Let her go!" a young voice that felt... familiar... and yet was not, had ordered the boys imperiously and Seishiro couldn't help turning around immediately.

Apparently someone cared. Contrary to his previsions someone, a teenager probably around his age, wanted to help her. Well, said someone was going to get quite beaten up, there were too many and they were too bulky for him to face. Too bad for him and that it still didn't regard Seishiro and yet, now that the teenager was there, he couldn't turn his gaze away. The bullies were many and strong, used to beat people up but the teenager seemed to have a good knowledge of martial arts and Seishiro whistled in appreciation at how he was handling things, completely mesmerized by the teen with green eyes, beautiful green eyes really, green eyes as he had never seen before... or had he? But then one of the bullies grabbed the girl and aimed his knife to her throat and the boy immediately stilled, afraid to risk her life. That was really a stupid error on his part as the bullies immediately used his hesitation to trap him and moved to give him a lesson.

The next second, Seishiro tapped the shoulder of the one who was trying to punch the boy. As soon as the bully turned, he hit him hard enough to break a bone or two.

"Don't move or I'll kill her," the one who was holding the girl hostage told him.

"Do it," he replied carelessly, smirking slightly. "See if I care."

The girl paled in fear but his answer surprised the bully enough to allow the boy with pretty green eyes a chance to free himself and the girl. It was easy for both of them to get rid of the remaining bullies, knives or not.

The only thing Seishiro couldn't quite figure out was why he had gotten cut during the fight. He was normally more careful than that but when he had seen the boy about to be stabbed because that annoying girl had distracted him **_again_** he... he'd just had to get the teen out of danger. He'd been careless. It wasn't that bad of a cut, anyways. He'd gotten way worse injuries and he didn't mind having a new one much, but the boy didn't seem to share his feelings.

"I'm so sorry... It was all my fault. I'm really sorry..." he kept repeating. He looked as if he going to cry as he immediately wrapped his tissue around Seishiro's arm to stop the bleeding.

"Never mind, it's just a scratch," Seishiro replied absently. He gotten worse injuries before, that was true, but no one had ever fussed over so much over. It gave him a strange feeling. A warm and pleasurable one. Odd.

"It's not a scratch!" the boy stated vehemently. "You must go to the hospital and have it looked at! The doctors might have to stitch it! And they'll surely have to disinfect it!"

"I..." he began, unsure for once, over what to say. He had never humoured someone else's wishes, unless it was his mother or an elder of his Ichimon then he really couldn't avoid doing it. So why did he feel as if he had to obey this boy?

"We'll accompany you to the hospital, of course," the teen continued, unaware of Seishiro's confusion.

"I don't want to go. I don't want this story to be public," the girl whined.

"Then you shouldn't wander around here. It's like searching for trouble, don't you see?" Seishiro informed her, annoyed by her presence here. He didn't want her around. At the moment he didn't want around anyone except the boy that now was looking at him with an expression of mild reproach. The girl screamed at Seishiro that he was an insensitive bastard before running away and Seishiro felt satisfied that she had finally left.

"It's not entirely her fault. Those boys..." the boy began, apparently tempted to follow her to make sure she would be all right but, at the same time, unable to leave him.

"Why are you defending her? Is she your girlfriend?" Seishiro asked, his eyes narrowing at the mere idea as he moved to take hold of the boy's hand possessively.

"My... no. What are you saying, I don't even know her, I..." the boy stammered. "Anyway this doesn't matter. I must take you to the hospital. Tokyo Metropolitan Hiroo Hospital isn't far and... why are you holding my hand?" he asked, realizing it only now.

"Um... to cope with the pain?" Seishiro offered, saying the first thing that came to mind. It didn't really hurt much but it seemed an acceptable excuse. Not that he expected the boy to believe him or to let him keep up with it...

"Oh, um, sure, I'm sorry, I hadn't thought... I'm really, really sorry you got hurt..." the boy replied, allowing him to hold his hand and accepting his excuse. Seishiro blinked at the boy's amazing ingenuity but recovered quickly from his surprise.

"Forget about it. So are you going to accompany me to the hospital?" he asked smiling gently. That boy might be of around his age but he sure was naïve... Oh, well, he wasn't going to complain, he'd decided as the other boy nodded. Seishiro would just make sure to walk really slowly so he could enjoy the boy's company as long as he could...

* * *

Seishiro was disappointed when they hadn't let the boy keep him company as they gave him stitches. The boy had told him he would wait for Seishiro but Seishiro didn't really expect him to do it. He knew fairly well how boring it was to wait in a hospital. He sighed as he felt inexplicably depressed. He had no idea why but that boy somehow made him strangely... emotional. It would surely be better if he were to never see him again, in his future line of work emotions would certainly be an nuisance and yet... he wanted to see him again. No he wanted to do more than just see him, he wanted to mark him and keep him all to himself forever. To never share him with anyone else, he realized as he was allowed to leave the room. Seishiro knew that the probability of seeing the boy again, considering Tokyo's population was almost none-

"Here's your chocolate," the boy's kind voice told him, offering him a plastic glass filled with a streaming brown drink that smelled vaguely like chocolate. Seishiro blinked at the boy in surprise. He was still here. He had waited for him. How... odd... "Well, I fear it's just one of those drinks that taste mildly of chocolate," the boy added nervously. "I took it from one of the vending machines in the hospital, but you said you wanted hot chocolate and... I mean..." The boy's gaze dropped as he became embarrassed, his cheeks flushing slightly.

"Thank you. On such a cold day, it's very appreciated," Seishiro assured taking the cup, pleased to see the boy smile at him again.

"Are you well now? I'm so sorry you got hurt..." the boy said in a concerned tone.

"I'm fine, you can stop feeling sorry now, I'm a strong guy," Seishiro assured after finishing the chocolate in a single gulp and discharging the cup in the nearest recycle bin. "Listen," he began then. "What if we..."

A shrill beeping interrupted him as the boy grew embarrassed again and began rummaging through his bag, explaining rather nervously that it was his beeper the one that was beeping and that he was really sorry because he should have shut it down before entering in the hospital but he had forgot and he had no idea of who was calling him and...(3)

"Hokuto-chan?" the boy said once he recognised the number written on the beeper's display once he managed to fish it out of his bag. "What could she want... **ARGH!** I'm tremendously late for work!" he exclaimed as he realized why she might have been calling him, almost dropping his beeper. "I must go!" he stated before he began to run away, then quickly returned to Seishiro, his fingers moving to grip Seishiro's jacket anxiously . "Are you absolutely sure you're all right?" he asked anxiously.

"Yeah..." Seishiro replied bitterly, not quite sure why he felt so disappointed at the idea of being abandoned. It wasn't as if he cared for the boy. It wasn't as if they shared special bond.

"I'm really, really sorry, you got hurt, honest," the boy repeated in an amazingly serious, sincere tone. "And I'm really grateful that you helped me. I promise I won't forget."

Seishiro stared at those green eyes and knew that, despite all his mother's vows of loving him, she had never looked at him with such honesty. Green eyes... he had always had a weakness for them even if he had no idea why... he didn't want to let them go and yet...

"I've to go now," the boy said sadly, breaking eye contact as he lowered his head and then turned to run away again and... Following an impulse Seishiro grabbed the boy's wrist and pulled him back, against himself, wrapped his arm around the boy's slim shoulders , effectively trapping him, and kissed him. The abrupt kiss didn't come out as smoothly as in the movies, their noses got in the way at first and their lips literally hit against each other, but once Seishiro found the right position it felt really good, the kiss he'd been longing to give a lifetime. The boy didn't oppose it, and even if Seishiro couldn't really say the teen had participated. At first apparently too surprised to do anything besides going stiff, in the end... the boy seemed to melt into it, as if he too had been waiting for it a lifetime. They fit, that was the first thing that came into his mind, they fit against each other, holding each other, kissing each other. They were made for just that. When they parted Seishiro stared into the boy's green eyes and could see there was a familiar longing in them. He too didn't want to be separated.

"I... I **_have_** to go..." the boy whimpered, a mix between an apology and regret, that almost seemed to say _'I don't like it but I've no other choice'_. Seishiro nodded in understanding, still holding him tightly against himself with his arm as one of his hands moved to cup the boy's face, his fingers trailing on the boy's lips gently.

"Never... never let anyone else kiss you. Never. Remember, you're only mine to kiss. And... when we'll see each other again... I'll offer you a whole dinner... and not only..." he whispered, a raw note in his voice. The boy nodded, dazedly and Seishiro let him go. "Go. Before I change my mind," he ordered. The boy took some hesitant steps back then turned and moved to leave. He took some more steps before stopping again and turned to smile at him gently, a smile Seishiro loved.

"Next time then!" he said cheerfully before making a small wave and then left.

"Next time!" Seishiro echoed as he watched the youth run away. There would be a next time. There would surely be . And then another, and another, and another, and they...

As he thought about what they would do during their future meeting, gingerly touching his lips as he savoured them in his mind (that boy had tasted so good, even better than chocolate...) another thought crossed his mind. Another taste, another body, other arms, other touches and he shuddered in revulsion. Before, he had never minded much those touches and those kisses but now that he had gotten a taste of that boy, the idea of getting closer to his mother again felt... really disgusting. He was already strong enough, he didn't need her anymore, not that he ever had. Seishiro was a firm believer in not keeping things that weren't of use anymore. It was time for him to work, too. He would begin that very evening.(4)

_**To be continued...**_

* * *

**JJ's Notes:**

1. Seishiro grew up in Kanazawa, which is in a southern position compared to Tokyo. I assume that gives the city warmer weather. Also, many think Seishiro went to CLAMP Gakuen but actually there's no proof of this, on the contrary Seishiro's uniform is quite different from the CLAMP Gakuen ones. Actually, his uniform is similar to Saiki Daisuke's... I've no idea if Saiki or Seishiro went to a private school. I just assumed Seishiro did.

2. Many think Seishiro liked to see people suffer because he was the Sakuazukamori. Actually, Seishiro said he didn't care about people one way or another. As for the girl, the episode is based on **'Tokyo Babylon'**, **'Dream'** but I've not established whether she's Kaburagi Mitsuki or not. She might be. It's up to you to decide. The bullies, however, are the same ones who abused her.

3. In **'Tokyo Babylon'** we see Subaru carrying around a beeper.

4. Yes, Seishiro means he's going to kill his mother and become the next Sakurazukamori.

**JJ's Extra Notes:**  
For who're interested, the hospital in which Subaru accompanied Seishiro should be the one in which Mitsuki was. Seishiro became the Sakurazukamori when he was around fifteen. I assume that by then Subaru was already working and living in Tokyo. I might be wrong. In the manga, it isn't specified when Subaru moved to Tokyo. He considered his work first with what he tried to do when he met Seishiro at age nine, so maybe he began working very early and moved to Tokyo as soon as he'd finished Junior High (his grandmother talks as if Subaru hadn't been living in Tokyo for a very long time).  
Oh and yes, I know, this time Seishiro and Subaru should be old enough to exchange names. They forgot. They're so hopeless.

**Dictionary:**  
**-chan:** used at the end of a name to express affection and familiarity or when talking to a child  
**Ichimon:** "Family" or "Household" or "Clan"  
**Onmyoudo:** "Way of Yin and Yang". Yin and Yang are the male and female forces underlying the movement and changes of nature. Onmyoudo is based on the Chinese arts of astrology, divination and Taoist magic and also represents a mystical way of living in harmony with the forces of nature  
**Onmyoujutsu:** "Art of Yin and Yang". The ability to use Onmyoudo spells  
**Sakurazukamori:** "Guardian of the Cherry Blossom Burial Mound". The assassin who uses Onmyoujutsu to kill whomever threatens Japan

* * *

**Replies to reviews:**

To **Everyone who reviewed**: Thank you! You're a great encouragement for me!

To **Dark Angel Of Fire Ice**: It's strange how Seishiro can be what he is and being cute all the same...

* * *

Don't grumble silently, please let me know what you're thinking of this!  
Send me your comments!


	4. Chap 4: 1998

**Title: "Enjoy The Moment (A.K.A.: Five Things That Never Happened To Sakurazuka Seishiro Plus One) - Chap 4: 1998"**  
**Author: J.J.**  
**Warning:** It's an AU **BASED ON THE MANGA**, it probably contains some OOCness, uses Japanese words and includes some spoilers.  
**Notes:** It should have been completely different. I've no idea how it evolved into this...  
**Warning over notes:** This fic has notes. You will find them at the bottom. Each time you see a number between brackets it means there's a note connected to the word/sentence that preceded it. However I suggest you to read the notes **_AFTER_** you finished the fic unless the word/sentence connected to the note is really troublesome for you to understand. Anyway the fic should be still understandable without the notes. Notes are merely extra explanations for who wants to know more.  
**Disclaimer:**  
**"Tokyo Babylon"** and **"X"** belong to Clamp. I'm merely using their characters because I love them... especially Seishiro and Subaru...  
Do I own something here? Oh yes, I own the plot and a sensitive heart which would surely break if you give me harsh reviews, so please be honest but nice, okay?  
**Thanks:**  
To **Sami The Creator** for betaing this! Thank you a lot!  
**Summary:** _What a tiny little change can do..._

* * *

**1998 - Okinawa - Naha**

Seishiro had no idea why he was attending such a stupid veterinary convention. Oh right, because he was a veterinarian... part-time. Also, he was hoping to have a nice holiday, during which he would lie under the sun and eat ice cream while checking out teens in swimsuits, hoping to find someone suitably pretty and with green eyes that would show him a good time. Though, people always looked so boring to him that he couldn't bother being interested any of them. No, actually being bored would be an improvement. They were just... there, like walking things for him to watch, use and discharge. He believed it was a good thing that soon, there would be a lot less of them.

This still wasn't convinced it had been a good idea to attend the veterinarian convention. It was raining, pouring really, and it didn't look as if it planned to stop anytime soon. The people around him were either too old or completely unattractive. It made him think he was the only good looking veterinarian in all of Japan and apparently the idiot at the reception couldn't find his reservation.

He smiled patiently, doing his best to hide his murderous intent, and explained to him, again, that yes, he did have a reservation, he had made it the previous month, he had also phoned to confirm it two days ago.

"I'm sorry, Sakurazuka-san, but we've a problem. Apparently your reservation was cancelled rather than confirmed..." the idiot told him in monotonous tone without even bothering to sound contrite. Seishiro began to seriously consider getting rid of such an imbecile. Japan would profit from it. "And now the hotel is full, actually I fear all the hotels here in Naha are full this season, and we've no other rooms and..."

Seishiro frowned, a polite frown really, but it conveyed enough threat to turn the uncaring and distracted receptionist into quite a nervous man.

"You aren't suggesting I go out in this storm and search for another room in another hotel, not especially after you've already told me there are little chances I'll find one, are you?" he asked in a polite tone that still managed to make the receptionist pale and sweaty. Good. It was time he understood who he was facing.

"I..." the man stammered. "Well, I..." he repeated, apparently unable to say more.

"I'm sorry but... but I've overheard the conversation and..." someone began next to Seishiro. He turned toward the speaker in a mix of annoyance, for having been caught in trouble, and a strange sort of fascination because the voice sounded so... beautiful... and... almost... familiar... Luckily, he wasn't the only handsome veterinarian at the convention. Another was standing right in front of him, head lowered and general attitude quite nervous and shy. "Well... if it's no problem... I mean... you could take my room... I-I've a reservation for some more days... but... but I've to leave sooner than I've anticipated... and... well... the plane leaves tomorrow morning but... but I likely won't sleep anyway tonight so I-I was thinking of spending the night at the airport... so... you can have my room all for yourself... if it doesn't offend you... I mean... you can have it... I really don't mind... and I think it'll save the trouble for the hotel too... I-I'm sorry, I'm babbling, Hokuto-chan always says that... anyways... where was I? I was saying... if it doesn't offend you..."

"I don't think it'll be necessary for you to sleep at the airport," Seishiro began, interrupting the young man when it looked like he would never stop babbling, immediately making him start apologizing for intruding in an even more nervous manner. Seishiro raised his hand to stop him. "We'll share the room," Seishiro decided for them both. "That's what we'll do. If you don't mind," he added as an afterthought. The other raised his head in surprise and Seishiro managed to catch a glimpse of wonderful green eyes before said head was lowered again.

"I... you... us... sharing a room... I'd only trouble you... besides... I don't think... it'll be proper... I mean... won't I... my presence... bother you? I mean..."

"I'd be delighted to share a room with you," Seishiro assured in a perfectly honest tone. "And in order to give you my thanks, I'll offer you dinner," he decided. "What type of cuisine do you prefer?" he asked, taking the young man's hand into his. It was odd but Seishiro discovered he liked to hold the young man's hand a lot. It felt strangely familiar. That small, delicate and slender hand seemed to be made just to be held by his.

"I... really... have no... favourite one..." the other replied, a mix between confusion and surprise as Seishiro began to pull him away from the reception.

"Then I'll have the pleasure to choose for you," Seishiro decided, quite pleased he was going to choose where to eat. Also, that he would have the chance to enjoy such pretty company. Beautiful, not pretty. The other was shorter and thinner than him but still well proportioned, with a hint of fragility and childishness that made people want to cuddle and fuss over him like a child. The skin was smooth and soft like few others, the hand Seishiro was holding elegant and slender. The, maybe, too short hair, dark and fine the way Seishiro liked, framed a face with an elegant beauty that would made any woman jealous. Pale rosy lips that the boy wetted often, in an almost tempting manner, and beautiful green eyes shadowed by long eyelashes that, tragically, were almost always staring at the floor and half hidden to Seishiro's sight. In a while they were seated at the restaurant, after Seishiro waved away the many complaints about not being necessary to offer dinner. The young man continued to keep his gaze lowered and seemed hesitant to start a conversation, as if totally unused to talking to people. At first, it was troublesome to get something more than one word answers from him, so Seishiro decided to ignore formalities and try making some personal questions to get him to talk.

"So, why do you have to leave in such a hurry? Escaping the boredom of the conference or from the bad weather?" he asked smiling at him encouragingly, catching another glimpse of his green eyes before they were lowered again.

"No... I-I was actually looking forward to the conference... but... well... Obaachan... she wants me to return back... because... well... they've kinda set the date for my marriage and... and I'm supposed to be there..." he replied, growing even more nervous.

"Oh," Seishiro commented, disappointment, and not only that, filling him. He didn't want the youth to marry. He absolutely loathed the idea of him belonging to someone else. Why, he had no idea. It wasn't as if he had some claim over him... "I suppose I should congratulate you then," he continued, forcing himself to keep his voice cheerful and polite. "Is the lucky lady the Hokuto-chan you mentioned before?" _'Is the lucky lady someone I can consider a potential target? Is she?'_ his mind asked eagerly. The lucky lady had to be a threat to Japan if she'd stolen that boy from him.

"Eh, no, Hokuto-chan... she is... she was... my sister... she... she... I've no idea what was in her mind... she... some Yakuza... they shot... It's a complicated story, really... I'm sorry, I'm babbling again... and..." There was desperation in his voice and Seishiro saw the opportunity to put a comforting hand over his and to see another glimpse of those green eyes with a grateful light in them before they were lowered again.(1)

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to touch a bad topic," he said in a kind tone, not regretting the girl's death at all. Actually, it seemed the boy had had a strong bond with her and it only pleased him to know that now it was broken. Now if he only could break the other bond the boy was likely to have with his future wife as well... "Let's change the subject to a more pleasant topic. You're about to get married after all!" Seishiro continued. Honestly, he couldn't consider it a happier subject but many would and Seishiro knew it. The boy apparently wasn't among them as his smile became bitter as he agreed to change the topic. It was a good enough reason to investigate. "So, what's your future wife like?" he asked curiously

"I've no idea," the boy informed him with a tired sigh.

"You've no idea?" Seishiro echoed with dismay.

"The elders... they chose her. I assume... she's proper... because they wouldn't accept anything less..." the boy explained tiredly.

"Didn't you meet her at an Omiai at least?" he tried.

"Nope. No time for that. Too much work. They didn't think it was necessary to inform me who their choice was... or to meet her before the wedding... I-I don't think they approve of my being here... I... I should've stayed in Tokyo... but I wanted... I guess it was an impossible wish. Oh well, my Ichimon want an heir and with Hokuto-chan dead. I made them wait long enough. I assume... There's no time anymore... I'll just have to go and sign some papers and then... they'll likely have us live together as soon as possible... and, if... if she gives birth, she'll be my wife..." the boy stammered unhappily. Seishiro mulled over the fragmented information mentally. Evidently, the boy didn't want to marry, which was good. So why was he agreeing to it? Could it be a sense of duty?

"They should have let you meet her anyway. What if you don't like her?" he pointed out.

"I-I'll learn to like her with time. Anyway... it's not like we would stay together for long... I've work to do and..."

"Do you plan to bury yourself in work?" Seishiro asked, amused by the escape route.

"More like work is going to bury me," the other replied with a hint of bitter humour Seishiro didn't quite understand. Being a veterinarian wasn't a dangerous job, really. However, he could sense some power in the boy in front of him, though he couldn't get a clear reading. He wondered if the shyness was due to the young man having some sort of spiritual power. People reacted in oddly to them. Some tried to gain from it, some... would... kind of be traumatized, living as if it were too big a responsibility for them.(2)

"You know what you need? A proper bachelor's party!" Seishiro decided. A party for just the two of them would be such a good idea. It would give him the chance to change the boy's mind about that stupid wedding thing...

"A bachelor's party? I'm sorry but that's out of the question, I won't have anyone to invite. I mean... I don't think I can invite customers... or should I?" he asked in an unsure tone, no idea how a bachelor party should be. "And anyway I won't know what to do and..."

"Don't I count? Won't you invite me to it?" Seishiro asked pouting slightly in a rather childish manner.

"Ah, hum, yes... but... I wouldn't trouble you... and... I'm not a party person... and Hokuto-chan always says... I mean... said... I mean... I'm babbling again, aren't I?" the boy said in an almost whimpering tone. "I'm so sorry..."

"It's okay... you know... you don't look like you're much of a talker," Seishiro observed.

"Well... customers don't need me to converse... I mean... they'd rather I work quickly so they won't have any further problems..." the other explained quietly.

"What about your friends? Don't you talk with them?"

"I-I've no time for... I mean... I didn't go to school much... and because of work, I couldn't go out and socialize with other people anyway... and if they did... well, they didn't like my work much so..."

Seishiro blinked in confusion. He had two jobs but he still had free time. Where was the boy working to be so busy?

"Well, when was the last time you talked with someone, over a not work related thing?" he tried.

"I... when Hokuto-chan was alive... I think... she liked to talk... and I was good at listening..." the boy answered sounding melancholic.

"What about someone other than your sister?" Seishiro was fast to ask then.

"I... nine years ago I fear..." the boy replied but his gaze softened and he smiled, a beautiful smile, really, one worth remembering. It should have been a quite pleasurable conversation but Seishiro felt insanely jealous, without knowing why.

"I guess you're simply out of practice then," he stated, wishing to bring the boy's mind away from those memories. "I'll just have to make you talk to help you get used to it..." he decided. The boy looked at him in surprise. Seishiro grinned. He was going to have fun.

* * *

In the end, dinner turned out pretty satisfying and he managed to make his companion stop babbling or mentioning his sister every five seconds. Actually, once the boy got comfortable enough, the conversation turned out to be quite a pleasant one. Which he only had rarely. Very rarely. And if Seishiro was very good with his words he would get a smile, an honest beautiful smile, that shined in those green eyes and made him wish for a camera to capture the moment forever. Really, a very nice dinner with good food and lovely company, one he would regret letting go, he mused as they walked back to their hotel room.

It was pretty late and there was no one in the elevator, which made it a strangely intimate place, in which the boy's quiet laughter, directed towards his jokes, sounded so nice. The only displeasing thing was that he was still obstinately keeping those beautiful eyes glued to the floor. He had no idea what possessed him as he moved closer, cupped the boy's face and raised it.

"Here. Try to keep your head high. You've beautiful eyes. It's a shame, you always keep them lowered..." he explained causing the boy to blush as he tried to move back. Though, he was already against the wall and they were so close it was really easy to press himself even closer and try to steal a kiss from those sweet lips...

But the boy turned his face away, stopping him mere centimetres from his target.

"I... I don't think it'd be a good idea..." the boy mumbled.

"Why not?" he asked trying to keep the frustration out of his voice. He wanted the boy and he knew the boy wanted him too, he could clearly tell so... why not? "Does it disgust you to kiss another man? Or do you think it wouldn't be _'proper'_ for you?"

"I... no, that's not... I... I promised... I... I don't think it'd be a good idea..." the boy repeated even more nervously.

"It'll be a great idea, as long as you never let anyone else kiss you," he stated trailing the boy's lips with his finger, oddly wondering why the gesture felt so familiar. It wasn't something he bothered doing normally.

"What?" the boy asked, surprise and confusion and... something else... shimmering in his eyes.

"Never let anyone else kiss you. Ever. You're only mine to kiss," he repeated, bending down to kiss him. There was no resistance this time, no resistance at all as he pulled the boy closer and explored his mouth. He felt the boy's arms wrap around him shyly, pulling him even closer to him with a strange urge... an almost need, a longing to which his own body answered in kind and... the elevator stopped and the door opened causing the boy to part from him quite hurriedly.

"I... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..." he babbled moving to get away from him, only managing to trip and end on the floor. "I'm such an idiot..." the boy mused covering his face in embarrassment as Seishiro bend down to check on him.

"Wait, don't move. Your ankle could be twisted. Probably. Maybe. You shouldn't walk after such a fall anyways," Seishiro informed the boy with a certain satisfaction as he picked him up and held him, helpless in his arms. Actually, he doubted the boy's ankle was twisted but Seishiro thought one should always catch the chances life offered...

"I... you... what... what are you doing?" the other stammered. He didn't feel as if he'd twisted his ankle and had the impression the other knew as well.

"Carrying you, of course," Seishiro replied charmingly.

"But... but... the people..." he tried to protest to blush cherry red as he noticed one of the hotel's guests looking out of his room and staring at them.

"Well? Have you never seen a man carrying another because he was injured?" Seishiro asked, scowling at the intruder on their private moment. The man hurriedly returned to his room. The boy in his arms stopped squirming after that and simply made himself more comfortably, whispering a soft _'thank you'_. He really was as adorable as a child right then.

"You're welcome," Seishiro replied before getting him inside the room and setting him down on the bed, to bend over him.

"Ah... what are you... I..." the youth stammered, blushing furiously again.

"Don't worry," he replied gently, almost soothingly, caressing his fine dark hair. "I'll be gentle with you. We won't do anything you don't like. I promise you'll enjoy everything I do. It'll be a night to remember..."

"I... I don't think... I mean... I'm about to get married and..."

"I'm not asking you for commitment," Seishiro reminded him, wondering why he felt tempted to ask for just that. He wasn't the type who would commit himself to someone, so it just didn't make sense. "Just one night. I don't know you, you don't know me. It'll be just one night. It's your bachelor party, you're allowed to enjoy it. Haven't you ever had sex before?"

"Actually... no, not really..." the boy stammered shyly and Seishiro felt strangely... happy. His. The boy was all his. He was his to taste for the very first time.

"Oh... and have you kissed anyone before? Because you're such a good kisser..." he stated, moving so close to him that their lips were almost touching, knowing he'd made the boy blush even more, but wasn't really able to see it because of how close they were.

"Once..." the other whispered in a strange tone. That wasn't so pleasant, he didn't like the idea of there being else someone else before him who'd tasted those sweet lips. That was what pushed Seishiro into action.

"Then allow me to teach everything else. You'll like it, I promise," he assured before bending down to kiss him again, wanting to obliterate the memory of the boy's previous kiss. He was gentle with the boy, almost disgustingly gentle, as gentle as he had never bothered to be before, as he had never believed himself capable of being, amazed by how each of his actions could cause such a reaction in the other and... vice versa. There had never been so much... heat between him and a previous lover. There had never been so much... pleasure... there had never been so much... kindness, caring, so much in fact that, had he not known better, he might have mistaken it for love. He couldn't love or be loved in return, could he? Not by this beautiful stranger that reminded him so much... so much of... but he didn't want to think about that... he...

He stared, for a moment into those beautiful, flushed features, admiring the now naked body under him and the boy shuddered nervously under his hungry gaze.

"Don't be scared. I'll take care of everything. I won't hurt you. I'll never let anyone hurt you..." he whispered, sweet lies that somehow felt sincere. Green eyes stared back at him before a gentle smile blossomed over those soft lips.

"I know. I trust you..." he answered and somehow that answer meant much more than what it seemed. They didn't talk further, they didn't want to talk further, unless one were to consider the following moans, whimpers and so on as a discussion. Then it was finished and they laid, tangled together in an embrace, in silence. Seishiro wouldn't have minded falling asleep like this, with his body half draped possessively over the other's, uncaring of how defenceless it would make him. No threat would ever come from the one next to him.

A distant memory of snow, falling camellias and blood came to his mind, _'You'll be killed by the one you love...'_ but he chased it away.(3) He didn't love the boy, he really didn't, he mused. He moaned in contentment as the other trailed those beautiful and slender fingers through his hair. Then again, lightly on his skin in such a gentle brush, it was softer than any caress he had ever received, he didn't love him, he just... he just...

"What's this?" the boy asked in a more curious and worried tone, fingers delicately moving over a faint scar on his upper arm.

"Just an old teenager scar," Seishiro replied dismissively, more harshly that he'd intended. He didn't like to be reminded of that moment of foolishness in his youth. It was always strangely... painful... "Don't trouble yourself over it."

"A scar?" the other echoed and there was pain laced in his voice.

"As a teenager I was a bit... hot headed..." he explained without really explaining. "I don't even remember how I got it." Actually, the truth was he didn't want to remember. He didn't want to remember such intense feelings, warmth and caring were rare, a kiss that had felt too good to be real, green eyes too beautiful to exist. That strangely seemed to match the eyes of the one with him, that spun an illusion far more perfect than one he could create. He didn't want to remember, so he didn't. There was no point in remembering, really. The boy turned away from him and Seishiro felt... disappointed... well, disappointed wasn't quite the word but... it fit anyway.

"Can I..." the boy began to ask, pointing to his cigarette pack that he had abandoned carelessly on the bedside table.

"Suit yourself," he replied shrugging carelessly and trying to not feel desperately neglected as he felt the boy under him shift careful into a sitting position and light a cigarette with graceful, almost hypnotic movements. There was something... unsatisfied, pained in him and it bothered Seishiro who raised himself as well, so they were eye to eye.

"Are you okay?" he asked, trailing his fingers gently on the boy's cheek, which immediately blushed at the question.

"I... hum, yes, you... you kept your word..." he stammered. Seishiro gave a pleased smile as his arm found his way around the boy's shoulders. He kissed him lightly before taking the cigarette from the boy's fingers and inhaling as well.

"You shouldn't smoke," Seishiro pointed out uncaring of the fact that he was a smoker too. "It's bad for your health," he chided gently before kissing the boy's forehead protectively.

"I don't think it'll matter," the other replied pessimistically. "It won't be for long."

"You're talking as if you had a terminal disease," Seishiro observed lightly as he stubbed the half smoked cigarette in the ashtray.

"Isn't that what life is?" the other countered, smiling patiently.

"I see someone's been reading books... then should I answer _'Carpe diem'_?" he replied before nipping the boy's lobe, amused as how the other pulled away lightly, before he began to trail lower.(4)

"What... what are you doing?" the boy asked his hands automatically trailing into Seishiro's hair as the man teased one of his nipples.

"Enjoying the moment, aren't you?" he answered, looking at those green eyes that fascinated him so much.

"You..." the other said simply, smiling at him fondly before pulling him closer for another kiss, an odd mix of gentleness and passion. Then Seishiro had him lie down again before they decided to _'enjoy the moment'_ all over again.

* * *

Seishiro slept wonderfully well that night, the boy somewhat similar to the perfect Teddy Bear. As dawn's light started filtering the room he had a fleeting impression of someone caressing his hair very gently and almost lovingly, whispering _'see you next year'_, whatever that meant. Then, his source of warmth left him, moaning in disappointment as the bed got gradually colder, to the point it became almost disturbing and he opened his eyes lazily to find himself... alone. He sat up, looking around the room, searching for... he wasn't really sure what, then it dawned on him. He remembered that the boy was supposed to be boarding his plane early that morning, so he had probably already left.

He fought down the strange sense of coldness that possessed him as he moved to get up, wanting to leave that bed and that meeting behind him immediately. It didn't matter. It didn't matter. It didn't matter, itdidn'tmatter_itdidtmatter..._

Somehow, he didn't sound sincere. Not even to himself.

The boy had left him a note, a mere _'thank you'_ scribbled on a note pad, he had no idea what he was thanking him for. He fought down the urge to destroy the slip of paper, and put it in his wallet instead, without any real idea why. Another odd thing he'd collected that soon joined a white tissue with a red _'S'_ sewed on it, a paper tissue from an ice cream shop and an odd button from a child's particularly colourful shirt. Things that didn't matter either, really, because nothing mattered to him. Every person on the planet just felt like a glass to him. Glass to use and shatter as he pleased, but if that green-eyed boy was like a glass, why did he feel as if he was the one who'd been shattered?

He should have asked his name, his address, his telephone, his... something because it wasn't as if he wanted to see him again. Well, he wouldn't really mind and no, he didn't love him but if there was someone he could love, that one would have been... he... he should have marked him. He could have owned him forever instead of letting him go into the arms of a woman that... and they... they hadn't even hypothesised a next meeting... they...

Seishiro sighed, then left the room and went to bug the reception. They had to know the boy's name.

The idiot at the reception was still there and proved his lack of usefulness again. He couldn't tell him the boy's name but he gave him a piece of information he wasn't sure he had wanted to know. The room was always reserved for the Sumeragi Ichimon members and Seishiro knew very well who the Sumeragi were. It was a good thing they hadn't exchanged names. They wouldn't have gotten that far had they know who they were. Oh well, not that Seishiro cared much about who he slept with but... but a Sumeragi surely wouldn't sleeping with a Sakurazuka, would he?

Seishiro sighed again as he wondered what the boy's place in the Ichimon was. Well, the fact he was a Sumeragi explained the faint smell of power that he had sensed from boy, but didn't really help him determine the boy's position. People with great power usually masked it, so he couldn't tell if the boy had really possessed it or not. What would be the point of tracking him down, anyway? Sumeragi-kun was going to get married soon...

In a year, more like in a few months , the end of the world would arrive. In a year he would make it so that, if he couldn't have Sumeragi-kun nobody would. Nobody. He would give him to no one else. No one else.

_**To be continued...**_

* * *

**JJ's Notes:**

1. For anyone who wants to know, in this fic Hokuto died attempting to free Kakyou. I assume the men in black who were guarding Kakyou were Yakuza, especially because of the many connections between politicians and Yakuza in Japan. They could have also been Hinoto's Shikigami but... well, to me, it seemed odd that Hinoto's Shikigami would use guns.

2. I do assume Subaru is shielding his power from Seishiro and that Seishiro is doing the same with his own power. Both quite powerful, they don't manage to shield it completely however it's enough to stop them from realizing how powerful they are.

3. Sakurazuka Setsuka's words after Seishiro had given her the fatal blow.

4. I know I've read that quote somewhere... but I can't remember where! Maybe in **'La Coscienza di Zeno'**? As for Seishiro's reply, it's Latin, it comes from a poem and it literally means _'Seize The Day'_ which can be used to mean _'Enjoy The Moment'_.

**JJ's Extra Notes:**  
Yes, it might be rather rude that Subaru and Seishiro didn't exchange names before doing what they did. Let's just say that Subaru, in his shyness and lack of practice with people, forgot. Seishiro, in his stubbornness to consider people unimportant, forgot to ask the name to the only one he judged important, too caught up by... other thoughts. Okay so each of them was too caught up in the other to worry about small details like names.  
It's kind of funny how Subaru recognized Seishiro but Seishiro didn't recognized Subaru. Well, Seishiro was suffering from a big case of denial. Though, Subaru, for once, wasn't.  
As for Subaru's shyness... Subaru is pretty shy in the manga and has no social life. Meeting a guy who looks a lot like his childhood crush, but who could be an enemy and who's trying to hit on him, while he's about to get married to a stranger should have been very embarrassing. Especially when it turns out Seishiro is both and Subaru still likes him.

**Dictionary:**  
**-chan:** Name ending used to express affection and familiarity or to talk with a child  
**-kun:** Young  
**-san:** "Mr." or "Mrs."  
**Ichimon:** "Family" or "Household" or "Clan"  
**Obaachan:** "Grandmother" or "Old Woman"  
**Omiai:** "Love Seeing". Formal Marriage Interview  
**Onmyoudo:** "Way of Yin and Yang". Yin and Yang are the male and female forces underlying the movement and changes of nature. Onmyoudo is based upon the Chinese arts of astrology, divination and Taoist magic and also represents a mystical way of living in harmony with the forces of nature  
**Onmyouji:** "Person who practices Onmyoudo". Basically a magician, sorcerer, diviner and astrologer  
**Shikigami:** "Ceremonial God". Summoned creature that attends an Onmyouji  
**Yakuza:** "8-9-3". How the Japanese mafia is called

* * *

**Replies to reviews:**

To **Everyone who reviewed**: Thank you! You're a great encouragement for me!

To **Dark Angel Of Fire Ice**: LOL. Subaru can push Seishiro to do everything...

To **rain angst**: I'm glad you do!

To **Tenshi no Hoshii**: Seishiro often behaved rather childish in TB... it might have been an act... but maybe not... and yes, the boys should have really exchanged their names... but they end up saying the important things only at the last moment...

To **papilon**: Very hopelessly in love and blisfully unaware of it... I hope you'll enjoy this installment too!

* * *

Don't grumble silently, please let me know what you're thinking of this!  
Send me your comments!


	5. Chap 5: 1999

**Title: "Enjoy The Moment (A.K.A.: Five Things That Never Happened To Sakurazuka Seishiro Plus One) - Chap 5: 1999"**  
**Author: J.J.**  
**Warning:** It's an AU **BASED ON THE MANGA**, it probably contains some OOCness, uses Japanese words and includes some spoilers.  
**Notes:** It should have been completely different. I've no idea how it evolved into this...  
**Warning over notes:** This fic has notes. You will find them at the bottom. Each time you see a number between brackets it means there's a note connected to the word/sentence that preceded it. However I suggest you to read the notes **_AFTER_** you finished the fic unless the word/sentence connected to the note is really troublesome for you to understand. Anyway the fic should be still understandable without the notes. Notes are merely extra explanations for who wants to know more.  
**Disclaimer:**  
**"Tokyo Babylon"** and **"X"** belong to Clamp. I'm merely using their characters because I love them... especially Seishiro and Subaru...  
Do I own something here? Oh yes, I own the plot and a sensitive heart which would surely break if you give me harsh reviews, so please be honest but nice, okay?  
**Thanks:**  
To **Sami The Creator** for betaing this! Thank you a lot!  
**Summary:** _What a tiny little change can do..._

* * *

**1999 - Tokyo - Nakano**

Seishiro saw the building shatter with a satisfying sound. Once, he had liked Tokyo because the city was walking down the path towards destruction and yet still enjoying itself and he had planned to be like her. Now... now he somehow couldn't feel any amusement from what he was doing, he only felt some sort of sick anticipation as he waited for Tokyo to crumble. He wanted Tokyo to crumble with the stubbornness of a child who wanted to break a toy which whom he couldn't play anymore.

_'Crumble, crumble, crumble,'_ was all he could think as the ground under him shook. Seishiro refused to think he was doing it in petty retaliation for having been denied a green-eyed boy because of a girl who didn't even know what she had and surely didn't deserve him. It wasn't as if the boy were important to Seishiro after all. It had been a mere incident the fact he had started to develop this wish to see the world blowing up the morning he'd been left to awake alone in a hotel bed because his bed mate had left him to meet his soon to be bride and he had discovered said youth was a Sumeragi, someone over which he would definitely never develop an interest. The Sumeragi were too boring and proper to interest him, they believed they had the whole control of Onmyoudo and they hated the Sakurazuka. So yes, he was definitely not doing it for him. Definitely. Yeah. Sure. Of course.

To find himself trapped in a Ten no Ryu's Kekkai didn't faze him. He merely picked up his cigarette pack, trying to not think of slender fingers doing the same, hoping his adversary would have the kindness to let him finish smoking his cigarette before trying to fight him and...

"You shouldn't smoke," a painfully familiar voice pointed out in an empty tone. "It's bad for your health," it reminded him and Seishiro turned slowly to meet... a familiar boy with beautiful green eyes that were, as usual, staring obstinately at the ground. Actually he couldn't see if they were green, but he just knew...

"I don't think it'll matter," he replied, smiling charmingly. "It won't be for long," he added carelessly. He should have expected it, really. Destiny always had a twisted sense of humour. To have met again on opposite sides, during the battle for the end of the world... He so hated destiny...

"You... You're speaking as if you had a terminal disease," the other countered, repeating that old script diligently, still not looking at him.

"Isn't that what life is?" Seishiro continued, pretending to be amused by the game. He wasn't but it didn't matter. He just... wanted to talk, needed to talk of something pointless and that would stop him from... from feeling that annoying feeling of something very, very wrong and painful inside himself. This time however the other didn't reply and just stood there, hands in his pockets and head obstinately lowered. Seishiro frowned. "Sumeragi-kun, you're supposed to suggest I just enjoy the moment..." he reminded him. The boy couldn't have forgotten their conversation, could he?

"I don't think there's something to be enjoyed in this moment," Sumeragi-kun replied simply not showing any surprise in hearing himself being addressed by his surname. "I didn't think you would remember, though. I thought you had already forgotten our meeting."

"I hadn't. There are few things more intriguing than teaching to someone the pleasures of sex. Each reaction is a surprise. There are too few virgins nowadays in Tokyo..." he observed with another careless smile. Actually, Seishiro was sure he'd had virgins before meeting Sumeragi-kun. He just couldn't seem to remember any of them. Just Sumeragi-kun. But Sumeragi-kun didn't know and he wouldn't have to. Things would be easier that way.

Sumeragi-kun didn't reply, didn't react to his words. If he had taken them as an insult then he wasn't showing it at all. He'd been nervous and shy in their past meeting. Now he was just... here. A doll whose threads had been cut off. What marriage could do to a man, he thought eyes narrowing. And yet... he was here to defend her, he had created a Kekkai to defend her, he... maybe he was thinking of her right now and Seishiro... Seishiro refused to waste his time on Sumeragi-kun any longer.

"Well, Sumeragi-kun, it has been fun but I've errands to run. You know, people to kill, Kekkai to destroy... the usual stuff any respectable Sakurazukamori would do... so if you would please remove this useless Kekkai..." he told him motioning to the Kekkai around them.

"I'm sorry, I can't do that. This Kekkai will stay up until I die," the boy stated, finally looking at him, and there was a quiet determination in those green eyes that he lo-... appreciated so much.

"Oh, is that so?" he replied smiling cheerfully. "In that case..."

Ofuda appeared, apparently out of nowhere, in Seishiro's hand and he threw them carelessly at Sumeragi-kun. They took the shape of deadly birds but they weren't, in truth, aimed to kill, just to shake the boy up a bit. Sumeragi-kun didn't seem impressed as he calmly took his stack of Ofuda as well and simply... disposed of the other's attack with the practical ease of someone used to that sort of things. He didn't attempt to attack Seishiro he just... defended himself. Like his Kekkai, Sumeragi-kun wasn't aiming to hurt or attack Seishiro, he just simply wouldn't budge. It bothered Seishiro, somehow. He hated not managing to get a reaction from the youth. The next attack was more precise, more dangerous and the one that followed even more so, and so the one after it and the one after and the one after... until they were forcing Sumeragi-kun to fully concentrate, to defend himself the best he could but Sumeragi-kun still refused to attack him and that was annoying. Seishiro frowned as his attacks turned almost life-threatening and yet Sumeragi-kun was still stubbornly calm as if nothing important was happening. Still stubbornly calm even when Seishiro had him pinned against a building, helpless, as Seishiro's hand was ready to strike him and obliterate his heart with the Sakurazukamori's deadliest technique, one he used only for special targets. One he would use on him as well. Soon.

"You should also attack when you're fighting someone, Sumeragi-kun," Seishiro said, almost paternalistically.

"I didn't want to give you another scar," the boy stated, his eyes still lowered but now that he was closer, Seishiro could see there was pain in them, a lot of it. "I never, ever want to see you hurt..." Sumeragi-kun added in a quiet whisper and Seishiro was so clearly reminded of the boy he met in Ebisu and of course that boy and Sumeragi-kun were one and the same. How could he have missed it? However he didn't breathe a word about it.

"Dispel the Kekkai," he ordered instead. He didn't need Sumeragi-kun's concern. Really. Even if it felt nice. It always had.

"No," Sumeragi-kun replied simply, green eyes finally staring at him as he stared back, fighting to not lose himself in them. He'd always had a weakness for green eyes, since he was a child and met someone in Tokyo who... no, from the day he went to wait for his uncle at the hospital and he... he... He wondered how twisted destiny's sense of humour could be. It would be too ironic if what he was thinking was true and yet it made so much sense even if only in a twisted sort of way...

"Aren't you afraid to die, Sumeragi-kun?" he asked, his other hand absently moving to caress the boy's soft cheek. There weren't four people capable of affect him, only one. Only this one... Only the one that belonged to another... Only the one he was going to destroy...

"No," Sumeragi-kun answered calmly and it disturbed Seishiro how the only person who could affect him didn't care about his own existence. Not that Sumeragi-kun affected him a lot. Just a tiny, little bit but considering how no one else could even accomplish that much... And that boy, the boy that should belong only to him, was married, married and maybe he was thinking of his wife in that very instant.

"What about your wife, Sumeragi-kun?" he asked softly, cruelly. "Aren't you worried of making her a young widow? You never told me if you managed to have heirs..."

"I'm not married," the boy said in that same calm tone.

Not married? Not married? But he'd said... In Okinawa he'd said...

"You told me you were going to get married," Seishiro countered in an almost protesting tone, fighting down the childish voice in the back of his mind that was cheering so loudly at that new.

"I... turned the marriage proposition down," the boy admitted, sounding uneasy for the first time and lowering his eyes again.

"After all the efforts your Ichimon put into it? That wasn't very nice. Aren't you going to tell me why?" he asked, feeling a perverse pleasure in seeing the boy turn his gaze away. Sumeragi-kun wasn't married. It must have been hell for the boy to turn that proposition down. He was sure the Sumeragi Ichimon hadn't taken his refusal lightly. He was sure Sumeragi-kun had lots of troubles and that was only fair. Seishiro had had his fair share of problems too after that night in Naha. Why should Sumeragi-kun have it easy? "Why, Sumeragi-kun? Ashamed you'd slept with a man? Ashamed you'd slept with me?" he teased, hoping for a reaction. Misery loves company, after all. It wasn't like he was miserable but...

"I knew what I was doing," the boy stated quietly, still keeping his gaze lowered. "I knew who you were, Sakurazuka Seishiro-san. I remembered who you were. I... I don't regret what I did."

"You knew who I was?" Seishiro asked, frowning and tightening his hold on the boy instinctively, expecting a trap somehow. Why would Sumeragi-kun have gotten closer to a professional murderer if he hadn't had an ulterior motive? So close as to sleep with him? And yet... Sumeragi-kun had always seemed so honest... so honest in everything he did... "How?"

"I..." Sumeragi-kun began hesitantly then sighed as if finding no point in not satisfying Seishiro's curiosity. "Your nanny called you by that name at the hospital. Obaachan, well... I think she understood who you would be destined to become when she saw you at the ice cream shop because she forbade me to ever see you again even though she didn't explain why. I saw... I saw the way you fought at Ebisu, I sensed your power and... and you gave your name to the nurse when we went to the hospital later. Hokuto-chan... when I told her she suggested... and when the man at the reception called you by your surname I... I'll admit I wasn't sure... it took me a while to recognize you... you've changed and I wasn't sure but... and I've never been very bright and maybe I wanted... It doesn't matter. If you want to get out... you'll have to kill me," Sumeragi-kun finished looking straight at him again.

"Sumeragi-kun, I think it's simply stupid to throw your life away this way..." Seishiro observed. Sumeragi-kun shouldn't be like that. Sumeragi-kun should fight back and Seishiro should...

* * *

_'You'll be killed by the one you love...'_

* * *

Only he didn't love Sumeragi-kun... did he? He didn't love him, he'd merely found him... fascinating, he had always found him fascinating, because now he was sure it had been Sumeragi-kun all along, the green eyed boy that had charmed him so much in those various moments of his life, Sumeragi-kun and no one else, and how, **_how_** had he managed to miss that?

Sumeragi-kun smiled bitterly, his gaze lowering again.

"My existence... it's pretty pointless. I've no social life, I was unable to save my sister, I've deprived my Ichimon of an heir, I have a job I don't like and I raise a Kekkai in order to protect the world for someone who would rather have it destroyed..." the boy summarized. "It'll be fine this way..."

* * *

_'I raise a Kekkai in order to protect the world for someone who would rather have it destroyed...'_

* * *

For who had Sumeragi-kun raised that damned Kekkai for exactly? Not for a wife, he had none... and the last time they'd talked Sumeragi-kun had had no one, no one for which he could find enough worth to raise a Kekkai for, he was alone and...

* * *

_'I raise a Kekkai in order to protect the world for someone who would rather have it destroyed...'_

* * *

Those words seemed to imply... might it be...

"For whom did you exactly raise a Kekkai for, Sumeragi-kun?" he asked, moving closer to him. Seishiro hadn't realized he had, for quite a while now, stopped aiming at Sumeragi-kun and was merely holding him captive, at first, pinning him to the wall, and now, pressing him close to himself in something that looked suspiciously close to an embrace. The boy blushed and refused to answer even if he was showing no resistance at all to being held. None at all...

"So Sumeragi-kun is in love with someone," he observed. "Love... such a pointless emotion... My mother... she told me I would be killed by the one I were to love and I don't love you, Sumeragi-kun, don't ever try to delude yourself," Seishiro informed him not quite sure about why he was telling him this. He also had no idea why he was petting him but he didn't want to be bothered by details like those.

"Was she a YumeMi?" Sumeragi-kun asked him while looking up at him with those lovely green eyes of his.

"She... no, actually I don't think she had any idea how to predict the future. She couldn't even guess which side a coin would fall on..." Seishiro said, wondering why he had let himself be influenced by the weird statement of an obviously insane woman.(1)

"Then I'm glad you've no reason to worry over it, Sakurazuka-san," Sumeragi-kun mumbled snuggling closer and Seishiro wondered when exactly Sumeragi-kun had hugged him back and, more importantly, why Seishiro was enjoying it so much...

"I don't love you, Sumeragi-kun..." he repeated again. Sumeragi-kun nodded.

"I haven't asked you to, Sakurazuka-san," the boy replied with the sad, empty tone of a pessimist, and Seishiro sighed because the whole situation just didn't make sense but things with Sumeragi-kun never made sense. He just felt wonderful when the boy was around. The reason why was never explained to him though.

"I don't think I want to kill you either, Sumeragi-kun. The world is going to be destroyed, no matter what we do. Why don't we just... enjoy the moment?" he suggested, nuzzling against the boy. Sumeragi-kun was warm and very pleasant to hold just as he remembered...

"Whatever you want, Sakurazuka-san," Sumeragi-kun replied. He still didn't seem to expect anything from Seishiro and yet he seemed to enjoy their closeness...

"Seishiro. You've known me and my name long enough to be allowed to use it..." Seishiro stated. Sumeragi-kun blinked as he looked up at him, apparently surprised at the concession.

"Whatever you want... Seishiro-san..." he replied then, a little nervously, before returning to lean his head on Seishiro's shoulder. Seishiro smiled. Sumeragi-kun didn't seem to plan to move from his embrace anytime soon and that was good. Very good, he decided as he turned the boy's face and, after staring for a second at anxious green eyes, kissed him gently meeting no resistance at all.

"Sumeragi-kun?" he murmured when they parted.

"Hum?" the boy replied dazedly and he grinned seeing he wasn't the only one affected by their closeness.

"I've no idea what your name is," he admitted, causing the boy to blush.

"Oh, um, sorry, I guess I've never introduced myself, sorry, it was impolite of me, I'm so..." Sumeragi-kun began babbling, reminding him more of the boy he'd seen at the hotel. Seishiro placed a finger on the boy's lips, silencing him.

"Sumeragi-kun," he said. "Your name."

"Oh... um... Subaru... Sumeragi Subaru... from the Sumeragi Ichimon..." the youth replied, lowering his head in embarrassment.

"Sakurazuka Seishiro, from the Sakurazuka Ichimon," Seishiro replied. "Pleased to meet you for the fifth time... Subaru-kun," he added before kissing the boy again, much more passionately this time, enjoying how Subaru-kun clung to him tightly. It was good to be wanted. He was rather displeased when they had to part again.

"Subaru-kun?"

"Hum?" the boy replied again and Seishiro smiled, remembering Subaru-kun had never been much of a talker.

"I don't mind doing it here but... wouldn't you prefer some place more private and comfortable? You can set up your Kekkai again when we're at my apartment if it makes you feel better," Seishiro teased before moving to nip the boy's neck. Subaru-kun blushed cutely.

"Are you... are you inviting me to your home?" he asked nervously and for the first time he heard a tiny shred of hope in the boy's tone that made him even more adorable, so adorable Seishiro couldn't help but kiss his forehead as he would do with a child.

"No, I'm telling you that you're going to move to my apartment and remain there," he clarified, resting his hand on Subaru-kun's cheek and stroking his thumb over the boy's soft skin soothingly. Subaru-kun seemed in need of some cuddling and reassuring right then and he was sure he could provide them in abundance. "I'm quite bored with having to count on destiny for our next meeting and I've plenty of ice cream in the fridge. Don't you want to come with me?" he asked, likely looking at him in the same manner as when they'd first meet and he'd persuaded him to play _'Tag'_ in the hospital.

"I... I can't think of any other place where I would want to be..." Subaru-kun admitted, lowering his gaze shyly as a small wistful smile graced his lips.

"That's great, then you'll move in," Seishiro stated before kissing him again, rather quickly this time.

"But... it's your house... and I'm not good company and I'm horrible at housework and..." the boy protested timidly, looking at him anxiously, fearing to be rejection.

"I'll take care of it, Subaru-kun. I'll handle everything because now... now you're mine as you should have been right from the beginning. You've to stop worrying and just follow me," Seishiro stated, looking at him straight in the eyes, meaning everything he said.

Subaru-kun stared at him then, as the boy had done every other time they'd met, he agreed with his plan, dispelled the Kekkai and let Seishiro take him away from there, holding him by the hand as it was a... habit between the two of them. Seishiro was still sure he didn't love Subaru-kun but well... he didn't really needed to put a label on what he felt for the boy either, did he?

_**The End!**_

* * *

**JJ's Notes:**

1. In the drama cd, Setsuka said some pretty weird things that makes her sound a bit... insane.

**JJ's Extra Notes:**  
Yes, it was obvious right from the start that the two who met were always Subaru and Seishiro. It wasn't for them, though. The meeting never lasted much, they changed a lot through them (Yes, I know, in **'Tokyo Babylon'** Seishiro said he could have recognized Subaru without using the mark but he was eighteen when they first meet, not five or nine or fifteen and he wanted to recognize Subaru. Here, he's mostly in denial about the meetings' importance) and they met a lot of people between them. A side of them sensed that they'd had already met but... they couldn't figure out when.  
As for Subaru's depression... Subaru was already suffering of it in 1998 and you can find hints here and there. Realizing the one he loved was his enemy and spending a year trying to find a solution only to find nothing and deciding he would let Seishiro kill him didn't help as it hadn't helped the fact his Ichimon didn't take his refusal to get married well.  
What now? Will Subaru and Seishiro live happily together? Will they end up on Rainbow Bridge again? Will the world end or will Kamui save the day? You decide!  
And for those who're wondering where the _'plus one'_ in the subtitle... there's no other story. This story had been born to be made up by five tales only. The _'plus one'_ is just a reference to the fact Seishiro wasn't born in 1974.

**Dictionary:**  
**-chan:** Name ending used to express affection and familiarity or to talk with a child  
**-kun:** Young  
**-san:** "Mr." or "Mrs."  
**Ichimon:** "Family" or "Household" or "Clan"  
**Kekkai:** Shield  
**Obaachan:** "Grandmother" or "Old Woman"  
**Onmyoudo:** "Way of Yin and Yang". Yin and Yang are the male and female forces underlying the movement and changes of nature. Onmyoudo is based upon the Chinese arts of astrology, divination and Taoist magic and also represents a mystical way of living in harmony with the forces of nature  
**Onmyoujutsu:** "Art of Yin and Yang". The ability to use Onmyoudo spells  
**Sakurazukamori:** "Guardian of the Cherry Blossom Burial Mound". The assassin who uses Onmyoujutsu to kill who threatens Japan  
**Ten no Ryu:** Dragon of Heaven  
**YumeMi:** "Dreamgazer". One that can see the future in dreams

* * *

**Replies to reviews:**

To **Everyone who reviewed**: Thank you! You're a great encouragement for me!

To **rain angst**: I'm glad you liked the previous chapter and yes, Subaru knew... and they're naughty boys!

To **JenEvan**: That's the last chap and yes, they're a bit silly for not introducing each other...

To **Rein**: As you can see I haven't stopped. Well... the Sakurazuka Ichimon is a clan... but the Sakurazukamori is a one person assassin with assistant. So Seishiro has a clan at which he belong as Sakurazuka.

To **Watanabe Emi**: Seishiro is in denial. Deep denial. And well... while we know it can't be no one else but Subaru he had tons of meetings in between his meetings with Subaru and Subaru grew up quite a bit... but please, feel free to hit him on the head anyway!

* * *

Don't grumble silently, please let me know what you're thinking of this!  
Send me your comments!


End file.
